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Monday, July 30, 2007

Bryde's whale fact sheet

The Bryde's whale (pronounced broo-dess) is also known as
the tropical whale because it is the only baleen whale species that lives year
round in warmer tropical waters. They are mostly encountered waters above 16°C,
in both offshore and coastal areas. At sea they can easily be confused with other
baleen whales, particularly sei whales. The distinguishing feature of the Bryde's whale is a set of
three parallel ridges on top of the head, in comparison to the one ridge in sei whales. Of the two
species, Bryde's whales may also be
more active on the surface, often with irregular breathing patterns and
frequent changes in direction.

Bryde's whales were only
confirmed in the Azores for the first time in 2004. Before this they may have
been misidentified and could be more common here than previously thought.
Recently there have been regular confirmed sightings in the area. We expect to see them between June until August, and Azores seem to be as far north as this species swim. Our statistics show that we mainly see them in August, but not every year.

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Futurismo has 25 years of experience whale watching and swimming with dolphins in the Azores. We operate tours from São Miguel Island on a year-round basis.

The Azores islands are famous for being one of the world's whale watching hotspots. Here we can see at least 27 species of whales and dolphins, the most noteable being the resident sperm whale. Discover the secrets of the Azores with us, both out on the ocean and on land.

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